The County Government of Baringo is on the spot over alleged opening of over 300 illegal bank accounts.

This was evident on Monday, July 29 when Governor Benjamin Cheboi appeared before the Senate’s Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

During the session, the Senators ordered the county government to provide it with documents that show the agreement between the county, the Controller of Budget and the Office of the Auditor General on the opening of the said 304 bank accounts.

It was revealed during the session that the county has several accounts operating DANIDA funds, with Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka worried that some funds may have been withdrawn illegally.

But according to Governor Cheboi, the county government opened the commercial accounts, as directed by DANIDA, for easier auditing.

The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is a donor fund given by the Danish Government to support health functions in the counties. Baringo County is one of the beneficiaries of this fund.

Four years ago, DANIDA had complained that its auditors had failed to audit 11 counties, Baringo among them, on how they utilised these funds.

Governor Cheboi was given two days to comply with the order, in line with the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act.